Depth, Teamwork Lead to On-Ice Success for Owatonna Hockey Teams

The Owatonna girls hockey team is in contention for a top playoff seed. The boys are fighting for a home playoff game. Both are in the thick of the Big Nine title race.

Each team had some big question marks coming into the season. The girls graduated 40-goal scorer Betty VonRuden. The boys lost high-scoring forward Noah Scheid and a pair of four-year defensemen in Kade Friedrichs and Sam Hylle.

Owatonna's girls are 9-0-1 in the Big Nine and 10-5-1 overall. OHS has added a game at Mankato East Tuesday January 17 at 5:30PM with coverage on KRFO AM 1390. Thursday they entertain Rochester Century before facing a big section seeding showdown at Red Wing on Saturday night.

The Huskies have five players with six or more goals, led by Margo Achterkirch's 18 goals and 10 assists. Jenna Bogen has 12 goals and 13 assists, according to the hockey hub website. Jamie Davision (7G, 5A), Sydney Hunst (6G, 5A), Shannon VanReeth (0G, 6A), Maylynn Prokopec (6G, 0A) and Grace Wolfe (2G, 4A) have all contributed. The Schmidt sisters, Rilee and Chloe, each have five points. Laura Ebeling and Asia Buryska have shared time in goal.

The Owatonna boys scored an early season win at Farmington, which opened the door to a possible high playoff seed. Wins over Rochester John Marshall and Mayo over the past couple of weeks give the Huskies momentum. Owatonna goes to Rochester Century on Thursday night on Kat Kountry 105FM and hosts Red Wing at 3PM Saturday.

On Saturday's coaches show, Josh Storm talked about the defensive corps and how they have matured this season. Offensively, the Huskies are averaging just three goals per game yet are 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference. Tyler Wencl (7G, 7A) leads OHS with Carter Broton (8G, 5A), Mitchell Mayer (2G, 10A) and Mitchell Wiese (3G, 7A) right behind. Adam Rehman and Kodey Kiel each have five assists, according to hockey hub. Jacob Dub and Ryan Johnson have split time in goal.